Month of Thanksgiving - Day One

I tried this last year and only made it like 6 or 7 days in.  I am going to try to do better this year. 
I will try to share one thing that I am thankful for each day this month.

DAY ONE:  A football family.  Ever since the first year Parker played football I have understood what people mean when they reference their "football family".  When you spend that much time dedicated to a sport/team you really get to know not just the other kids on the team but their families as well.  We have been so lucky to have great football families!  We have been able to play with several of the same kids/families on many teams but have had a few changes over the years.  Our very first year of football was when I was pregnant with Bailey, Bailey was born, and Bailey passed away.  Our football family rallied around us and almost every single family from that team came to her viewing.  My most vivid memory of that night, to this day, is of Parker and 4 of his team members standing around the casket looking at Parker's beautiful little sister while he showed them her tiny little hands and feet.  His Head Coach was the first to get there that night and one of the last to leave.  And, as I mentioned before, almost every single family came at some point during the night.  I never would have expected that as it is somewhat hard for an 8 year old boy to understand - but they all came to show their support.  It wasn't just attending the viewing, the Coaches were so great to help that 8 year old boy struggle through the emotions that he wasn't understanding for the rest of the season.  There were times that I was scared of him taking his anger out on other players but those Coaches helped him channel that and taught him the right way to use that aggression.  I could go on and on about that first "Football family".  We continued to have great families as Parker progressed onto other Teams.  Another Coach that I will be forever grateful to is Mick Tryon.  He was the Coach of our Indoor team for a few years and he taught Parker so much about not just football but about life and how to be a good person.  That's another thing that is so great about having a "Football Family" - you are all working together to teach kids how to be good people, good citizens, and to work together as a team.  It's about respect and trust for each other.  There are so many families that I could list that have influenced our lives and probably don't even know it.  Again - thankful for all of our "Football families"!